By: Christopher Feery | May 18, 2018

The family of music superstar Madonna has grown substantially through the years. The pop music icon has two older children, Lourdes Leon, 20, and Rocco Ritchie, 16, and she has made headlines in recent years by adopting four children.

As the NY Daily News shares, her parenting style is being called into question after a photo of one of her youngest children began making the rounds on social media.

Madonna adopted 11-year-olds Mercy and David a few years back, and she followed that up by adopting twin girls Stella and Esther from Malawi earlier this year. The photo is of one of her younger daughters, who is holding a pillow with a curious phrase stitched on it.

“F*** Cocaine,” the pillow reads.

Madonna shared the photo with a simple caption, and a social media firestorm followed.

"I couldn't agree more," she wrote.

While that’s a fair commentary on drug abuse for those of legal age, there’s plenty of better ways to express that sentiment when there are young children involved. Many commenters were quick to point that out to Madonna.

"Using words like that in front of young children is wrong," shared one user.

"When I was 5 years old I didn't know what cocaine was or word f**k! I didn't expect this from you Madonna," added another.

The singer has previously spoken out against drug use, although she notes that she tried some things in her younger days. During an interview, Madonna has noted that drugs "give you the illusion of getting closer to God, but ultimately kill you."

Based on her experiences, it certainly sounds like Madonna can provide a guiding hand for her children to steer them clear of drug abuse, but she can perhaps accomplish that in the future with some more age-appropriate language.

This isn’t the first time the pop music songstress has been called out for her parenting style. The star has had an estranged relationship with son Rocco in recent times, and that’s partially the byproduct of a bitter custody battle she had with her ex-husband, Guy Ritchie.

Sources have claimed that Ritchie was not a big fan of Madonna’s parenting style, and that’s partially what sparked Rocco’s desire to stay with his dad in London.

"He wants Rocco to have the confidence he lacked growing up and thinks Madonna's stern parental style is counterproductive," a source claims.

There’s a place for sternness as you navigate the waters of being a parent, and there’s also a place for having an open dialogue with your children that shows them that they can come to you about anything and everything.

While there’s no handbook that will tell you how to navigate through every potential landmine, keeping those tenets in mind will place you on the road to success.

On the foul language front - and the drug front, for that matter - it comes down to leading by example. Children are more likely to fall in line with your views when you practice what you preach.

Those that fail to have control over their own lives will eventually find they are talking to some deaf ears when the kids grow to be teenagers.